| UoSAT-3 | |
| Mission Type: | OSCAR |
| Operator: | University of Surrey |
| Cospar Id: | 1990-005B[1] |
| Satcat: | 20437 |
| Manufacturer: | SSTL |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Ariane 40[2] |
| Launch Site: | Kourou ELA-2 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 15 April 2019, 21:11 UTC[3] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Sun-synchronous |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 776km (482miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 792km (492miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 98.7491 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 100.5 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Programme: | OSCAR |
| Previous Mission: | OSCAR 13 |
| Next Mission: | OSCAR 15 |
UoSAT-3, also known as UO-14 and OSCAR-14, is a British satellite in Low Earth Orbit. It was built by a spin-off company of the University of Surrey, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) and launched in January 1990 from French Guiana.[1] The satellite functioned as one of a series of OSCAR satellite in orbit around the Earth, as well as observing Earth and performing scientific experiments.[2]
UoSAT-3 was launched on the same rocket as its sister satellite, UoSAT-4.[2]
UoSAT-3 exceeded its expected operational life by 3 years and ceased active service in 1999.[4] However, amateur radio enthusiasts managed to track the satellite for a certain amount of time afterwards via the satellite's FM voice transponder.[4]
The satellite, which is now non-operational, forms a part of the growing amounts of space debris orbiting around the Earth. The payload will decay in the Earth's atmosphere some time in the future.